Cut and pasted a response of mine from another grapple thread...food for thought: Couple of tips arrived at through a ton of research and many hours of grapple use (nothing new here....you will find others have made the same observations including our friend, Jinman, R.I.P.): Many, many people have bought wider/heavier grapples and wished they had gone narrower/lighter....almost nobody has bought a narrower grapple and wished they had bought wider. This is especially true if you work in woods, tighter spaces or uneven ground. Think about negotiating through tight wooded areas with your bucket on. My bucket is 72".....it gets TIGHT in my working conditions. The reality is you really can't grab a lot more material by going a little bit wider with a grapple. Also, remember that the wider the grapple, the higher the twisting moment around your loader arms. Be careful, things can get bent with a wide, heavy uneven load...our compact tractor loaders are not as stout as a skid or track loader. In addition, narrower the grapples tend to be lighter leaving more lifting capacity to the payload. IMO, the MTL 48" single lid grapple with a 41" opening and a flat bottom (the flat bottom provides overall higher utility IMO), fully greaseable pivot points, protected cylinder, etc., is a killer unit/value at less than $900 delivered. It's plenty for my larger/heavier 55hp.
